Early this year, Canon teased development of a new long-zoom enthusiast compact that looked set to take on the Sony RX10-series and Panasonic FZ1000 on their own turf. Today, the launch of the Canon G3X brings near its end what must have been a difficult four-and-a-half month wait for Canon fans, doubtless keen to get their hands on the new model. Set to hit the market just a handful of weeks from now, the Canon G3X has a lot to recommend it over its well-entrenched rivals -- but some big question marks remain as well.

When it was first teased last February, we knew very little indeed about the Canon G3X beyond its use of a 1"-type image sensor and a very far-reaching 24-600mm equivalent lens. Now, we can fill in the blanks, revealing a 20.2-megapixel camera based around the exact same CMOS image sensor used in the pocket-friendly Canon G7X. It comes accompanied by what we all knew had to be the case: A variable-aperture f/2.8 - 5.6 zoom lens. Thankfully, given that extremely powerful telephoto, it features five-axis Intelligent Image Stabilization, but it's not entirely a mechanical design -- stabilization for roll is achieved electronically, and so comes accompanied by a sensor crop.

At its development announcement, the absence of an electronic viewfinder had some photographers reaching for their pitchforks, but it turns out that the Canon G3X will support the exact same electronic viewfinder accessory as used in the Canon G1X II. That's something of a double-edged sword: It's a very high-res unit, and provides a tilt function that the built-in viewfinders of its rivals lack, but a high list price of US$300 means that camera and finder together will list for far more than all but the Sony RX10 II. (And you'll need to sacrifice the opportunity for external flash if you want to use the viewfinder.)

But there's plenty else to recommend the G3X to Canon fans. It comes absolutely packed with external controls, and all with an interface that should feel familiar to EOS DSLR owners. And unlike its rivals from Sony and Panasonic, the magnesium-alloy body of the Canon G3X includes rubber seals that, says its maker, will provide a similar degree of weather-sealing to that of the EOS 70D DSLR. Add in a high-res, selfie-friendly LCD touch-screen and a video feature set that includes both external microphone and headphone jacks plus a clean HDMI output, and we're sure you're eager to feast your eyes on our just-published preview of the new model!

Available in the US market from July 2015, the Canon G3X carries a list price of US$1,000 or thereabouts. The Canon EVF-DC1 electronic viewfinder accessory is already available, and lists for US$300. Find out a whole lot more in our Canon G3X preview! Want one in your hands as soon as possible? You can preorder now from Imaging Resource affiliates and help support our site by shopping at the links below: